New York Governor Andrew Cuomo today spoke publicly on his successful shepherding of his gay marriage bill into law earlier this year. “What this victory has done is a number of things. First, it makes it a valid question for any politician anywhere at any time. And that is powerful in and of itself. For every legislator who is running, this is a valid question to be asked in a campaign. Second, it says, ‘You can do this!'” Cuomo repeated “You can do this!” several times.
Governor Cuomo, who, as it turns out is both personable and has a great sense of humor, was speaking this afternoon at an invitation-only panel discussion sponsored by The New York Times, titled, “Same Sex-Marriage: The Road to Passage,” which The New Civil Rights Movement was grateful to have attended.
“With Republicans, with Democrats, you can present the dialogue and make it a reality,” said Cuomo, heralded for his determination to pass marriage equality even before announcing officially his candidacy for Governor.
“It’s just a matter of time,” the Democratic Governor told the audience of several hundred politicians, activists, and reporters.
Cuomo stated that anyone who examines the question of same-sex marriage must logically come to the conclusion that the only reason to deny gays and lesbians full civil marriage equality is the admission of wishing to discriminate against them.
“Ultimately, there was no answer by the opposition. There isn’t! There really isn’t. And as soon as you ask the question, and you probe the answer, the only answer [by those opposed to the gay marriage bill] is ‘I want to discriminate against gay people.’ And that is anti-New York, it’s also anti-American,” said the Governor, in perhaps his most-passionate comments during the 90-minute symposium.
Also attending were New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York State Senator Jim Alessi, one of true four Republicans who cast “yes” votes, and credited as the first GOP Senator in New York to ever declare his support for same-sex marriage equality. Finally, Bruce Gyory, introduced as a professor at the University of Albany who has written extensively on the topic of same-sex marriage.
More on this fascinating discussion later, possibly the full audio too, and comments from NYC Speaker Quinn, who may become the next NYC Mayor.
(Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Bruce Gyory as “Dr. Bruce Gyory.” Our apologies for the error.)